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The Political Archive

The Political Archive is the 'memory' of the foreign service. It has preserved the files on German foreign policy since 1867, as well as the international treaties signed by the Federal Republic of Germany and its predecessors in title. The records are preserved, processed and made available to academics.

Click here to find out more about the tasks of the Political Archive and how to research its holdings:

For many years, it was a symbol of the division of Germany: The Brandenburg Gate. Even after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the gate did not have an official crossing point - that changed on 22 December 1989.more22 December 1989 – Brandenburg Gate re-opens

On 19 August 1989, Hungary opened the border to Austria for the 1st time for a few hours: at the "Pan‑European Picnic", several hundred GDR citizens seized this opportunity to flee to Austria.
more19 August 1989 – A picnic for freedom

After the Berlin Wall went up, the border pass agreement of 1963 provided for a regulation which enabled the population of West Berlin to visit their relatives in the eastern part of the city.moreThe “border pass agreement” of 1963

How did German diplomacy work 100 years ago – and how did it fail? The Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office has digitised 900 documents on the outbreak of the First World War and published them online. Enjoy browsing through them!moreOnline archive on the July 1914 crisis

Following the assassination of the heir to the throne, Austria-Hungary considered taking military action against Serbia. Thereupon Kaiser Wilhelm II declared that Germany would support the Danube monarchy as required by alliance obligations.moreThe “blank cheque” of 1914

On 28 June 1914, the heir to the Austro Hungarian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo. This assassination triggered the July Crisis which ultimately led to the outbreak of the First World War.A report on the assassination by the German Ambassador in Vienna with handwritten comments by Kaiser Wilhelm II in the margins is kept in the Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office.
moreThe Sarajevo assassination